Khushi Arora

On 18 September 2025, India’s changemakers gathered under one roof for Optum presents The Better India Showcase, supported by M3M Foundation — an evening that celebrated courage, compassion, and collective action. From villages to cities, it was proof that hope still drives India forward.

In a city with less than eight percent forest cover, one patch of green still cools the air, recharges water, and shelters a near-threatened parrot. This is the story of Dol Ka Badh — and the people keeping it alive.

When Dr Ruby Makhija became RWA secretary, she set out to fix one problem in her Delhi colony. Eight years later, not a single bag of waste has reached the landfill — and the numbers will surprise you.

When cyclones tore down poles and summers banned outdoor work, Odisha’s linemen, engineers, and SHG women kept the current flowing. Five years on, their grit and trust have turned a fragile grid into one of India’s strongest power stories.

Once a corporate banker, Abhishek Kumar returned to Bihar to transform farming on his ancestral land. Today, he mentors over two lakh farmers across India, showing how sustainable crops and farmer collectives can make agriculture profitable and dignified again.

From free treatment and food to home visits and jobs for patients’ families, Dr Ravi Kannan’s vision has turned a small cancer unit in Assam’s Barak Valley into a beacon of hope for the poor.

For 120 days, photographer Prasenjeet Yadav set up camera traps in Odisha’s Similipal forest, chasing a dream, 12 years in the making. One rare image of a black tiger changed everything.

Most real heroes never trend, but they change lives every day. From farmers to teachers, this rap anthem captures their fight for impact. Created as the official anthem of The Better India Showcase 2025, it’s raw, powerful, and unmissable.

In 2008, Ravi founded the Earth Saviours Foundation and would personally go out into the streets to find disabled and destitute people — bringing them into the foundation’s shelter home, and serving them around the clock.

Manisha Prajapati, known as Mannu, was just four when a tragic accident left her with severe burns. Defying societal rejection, she turned to art for healing and now challenges conventional beauty standards through her powerful social media presence.